Phyllis Fong, the fired inspector general of the United States Department of Agriculture, was removed from her Washington, D.C. office on Monday after refusing to comply with the terms of her termination.
A 22-year-old veteran of the department, which has a broad mandate to investigate food safety and animal welfare, Fong’s office has been looking into Elon Musk’s brain implant startup Neuralink, as well as the Boar’s Head listeria outbreak.
In 2022, the USDA launched a federal investigation into Neuralink for potential animal-welfare violations in response to internal staff complaints alleging unnecessary suffering and animal deaths during testing, according to Reuters.
The Trump administration fired Fong, one of 17 federal watchdogs, on Friday, according to Reuters. Fong, on the other hand, informed her colleagues via email that she intended to remain in her position, claiming that “these termination notices do not comply with the requirements set out in law and therefore are not effective at this time.”
She arrived at her office on Monday morning and was quickly escorted out of USDA headquarters by security, according to Reuters.
In a statement, the White House described Fong and other inspector generals as “rogue, partisan bureaucrats” who “have been relieved of their duties in order to make room for qualified individuals who will uphold the rule of law and protect democracy.”